A high-level course for female referees

CONMEBOL is sparing no efforts and with the constant support of FIFA, has launched a high-level course for referees who have been called-up for the Women’s U-17 Sudamericano to be played in Paraguay starting Thursday the 12th of this month.

CONMEBOL is sparing no efforts and with the constant support of FIFA, has launched a high-level course for referees who have been called-up for the Women’s U-17 Sudamericano to be played in Paraguay starting Thursday the 12th of this month.

Sonia Denoncourt, Senior Manager of the Competitions Division of the Dept. of Referees at FIFA, was present and noted, among other things, the task that encompasses the 2015 World Cup in Canada. This course will involve a lot of physical and technical effort from the referees that will form the elite group.

Sonia Denoncourt has an interesting career trajectory and entered the complex and difficult refereeing field when she was only 14 years old!

She was a referee at the women’s football final in Sydney in 2000. In the ’99 World Cup she reffed the opening game. She is the first woman to ref a men’s official game in Salvador in 1966. A year later she got her chance in Brazilian football.

This course is for the next big events scheduled by FIFA at the women’s football level: U-17 World (Costa Rica), FIFA U-20 (Canada) and the Women’s World Championship to be held in 2014 in Beijing.

Dr. Carlos Alarcon Rios, President of the Referees Commission of CONMEBOL, is part of the process along with FIFA instructors: Oscar Julían Ruiz (Colombia), Silvio Aguinaga (Paraguay) and Ana Perez (Peru).

The course will cover a broad agenda including issues such as amendments to the rules, teamwork, physical preparation, the nature of fouls and other factors that have to do with the refereeing field.

The course will involve two referees and one assistant from each country that is represented by CONMEBOL. There will also be professionals there to listen. 

List of participants of the course:

Conmebol.com